


In Vino, Furorem

by anonymous_moose



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Conflict Resolution, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Drama, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-18
Updated: 2017-08-18
Packaged: 2018-12-16 23:53:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11839641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonymous_moose/pseuds/anonymous_moose
Summary: Candlenights at the Burnsides home; the first time they've all been together since the day they saved the world. A time of peace and comfort and joy. But too much wine, too little tact, and too many things left unsaid can really spoil the mood.Taako explodes. Magnus lays down the law. Lucretia steps out. Merle makes peace the only way he knows how.A family is a family, for better and for worse.





	1. What Sobriety Conceals...

"You have any regrets, Lu?"

Angus looked up from his food. Around the table, the delicate sound of utensils scraping plates ceased for a moment.

Taako had broken the brief, companionable silence that had fallen over the dinner table. His cheeks were flushed, his expression flat, eyes heavy and half-lidded as he reached for one of the wine bottles. Not quite the distant, disdainful look Angus recognized whenever he pushed too far, or asked too personal a question. This was icier, more brittle.

Taako refilled his glass with a generous amount of wine. Angus counted that as his fourth of the evening.

Angus looked toward Lucretia, seated across the table next to Taako. She didn't look up from her plate, or really acknowledge him at all. But she seemed to be sitting a bit straighter than she was earlier.

"I don't," Taako said, answering his own question. "Never have, never will. No point to it. That how you feel?"

Still, Lucretia remained silent. Angus glanced around the table. Kravitz was next to Taako, looking confused. Aunt Lup was glancing between Taako and Lucretia, almost expectantly. Mr. Bluejeans was staring directly down at his plate, continuing to eat. Merle was on Lucretia's opposite side, eyebrow cocked but otherwise quiet. Mr. Davenport... Angus couldn't quite tell what the look on his face was, and he avoided eye contact with anyone.

Magnus, though, was silently fuming. He rested his elbows on the table and glared at Taako, brow furrowed.

"I mean, I've done some real heinous shit in my day, Creesh," Taako said, leaning on the table and swirling his wine in his glass. "I've lied, cheated, stolen. Killed. Sometimes I even meant to. But I'd never do anything like that to anyone at this table. Like the thought would never even occur to me, y'know?"

He took a long drought and smacked his lips, staring at nothing.

"Guess that makes us different, huh?"

Angus felt his stomach tighten. He set down his fork. He wanted to speak up, to say something - he knew what Lucretia had done, but he knew she wasn't a bad person - but his voice felt smothered by the tension in the air.

Lucretia sighed, very softly. "It hurt me, too, Taako."

Taako laughed, high and brief and humorless. "Uh-huh," he said, wholly insincere, raising his glass to his lips again.

"I understand how you feel–"

"Well, that makes it better."

"–but I had to do what I felt was right."

"Oh, sure, sure," he said, nodding a bit too emphatically. "Wouldn't want you to feel bad. Soothing your conscience, I mean, that makes it all worthwhile, doesn't it everyone?"

Taako glanced around the table, palms up, almost-empty wine glass dangling from his fingers. No one spoke.

Lucretia took a breath, speared a piece of fish and ate it. She kept her calm about her like a shroud. Her next words were spoken seriously. "I know that moral conviction is a foreign concept to you, Taako, but–"

Taako slammed his glass down on the table. It shattered in his hand, the sound surprisingly soft. Angus flinched.

"Fuck you!" Taako shouted, looking at Lucretia for the first time since this began. "You don't get to judge–"

Magnus slammed his hands on the table as he stood quickly from his chair. It scraped behind him and nearly toppled. He frowned furiously at Taako.

"Not here," he said forcefully. "Not in this house."

Taako glared at him, almost baring his teeth, hand still wrapped around the ruined stem of his glass. A stain spread slowly on the tablecloth, a mix of blood and wine.

For a long, uncomfortable moment, no one said a word. Angus found himself unsure how this would end, and it scared him.

Taako blinked first, and he looked away. A storm of emotions rolled across his face as he pushed himself to his feet.

Kravitz reached out to him. Not angry, but upset. "Taako–"

Taako snarled and yanked his arm away, and Kravitz let him go. He stalked away from the table and across the living room, his shoulders high and tight. As he passed through the doorway into the back hall, Taako smacked his hand against the wall and dragged it down.

Silence.

Angus stared at the smeared red handprint, hugging his elbows. When he finally tore himself away, he looked to Kravitz, who was staring after Taako, and then to Magnus, whose focus was elsewhere.

"Lucretia–"

"It's alright, Magnus," she said simply, still staring at her plate. "I'm fine."

She took one last bite of her fish, dabbed at her mouth with a napkin, then placed it on the table. She stood slowly, pushed her chair in, and walked away.

"Lucretia," Magnus repeated.

She turned into the foyer. Angus heard the front door open and close.

Magnus turned to the rest of the table. No one met his eyes. He scowled at them, and it looked so wrong on his face.

"I'm very sorry," Kravitz said quietly. "I'll talk to him."

"No, no," Merle said with a sigh, throwing down his napkin. "I've got this. Should be one of us. No offense."

Kravitz nodded once, lifting his fingers from the table in a little wave. Merle hitched up his belt and followed after Taako.

"Besides," he said casually as he walked away, "you or Magnus might cut his arm off in a fit of pique."

Kravitz snorted softly, taking another sip of his own wine. He pointedly avoided the stain on the tablecloth.

"The hell with this," Magnus grumbled, and walked away from the table. He went after Lucretia.

Angus looked at those who remained. Mr. Bluejeans was stoic; he placed his hand atop Aunt Lup's, who looked miserable. Mr. Davenport was resting his head in his hand, staring at nothing.

Kravitz stood from his seat. "Come on, Angus," he said, gentle and reassuring. "I think it's time we went to bed."

Angus set down his napkin. He felt bad about leaving food on his plate - Taako hated wasting food, considered it a cardinal sin - but his appetite was long gone. He got out of his chair and walked around the table, and Kravitz put his arm around his shoulders as they left the room.

"You think they'll be okay?" Angus asked quietly as they ascended the cramped little flight of stairs to the second floor of Magnus' home. "Taako and Magnus and everybody?"

Kravitz squeezed his shoulder, and despite his chill, Angus felt somewhat comforted.

"Of course they will, my boy," Kravitz said with surprising certainty. "They're family, aren't they?"

 

 


	2. Armistice

Taako sat on the stairs of Magnus' deck, cradling his hand. It stung, but he was drunk enough that he didn't care. He felt sticky wetness drip down the back of his hand, unsure how bad his wound was and unwilling to look, to acknowledge it.

It had been an oddly snowless winter, so far. The ground was bare, nothing more than patches of earth and dead grass. It was cold, a dry cold that ached to breathe, but Taako had been in worse. He rubbed at his chest, Prestidigitation keeping him warm even as his fingers grew numb and his breath conjured icy crystals in front of him.

"You're a real mean drunk, you know that?"

Taako frowned and didn't turn his head. "Go away, short round. Not in the mood."

"Yeah, I really give a shit about your mood," Merle said sardonically, plopping down on the stair next to him.

"I'm serious, Merle."

"So am I. Can't you tell?" He held out his wooden hand, fingers flexing. "C'mon, give it here."

Taako looked away and squeezed his cut hand with the other. It hurt. He still didn't care.

"What, you want it to scar? Vain little bastard like you?"

"Maybe."

"God," Merle chuckled. "Such a drama queen."

"I am not–" Taako started, turning toward Merle. The look on his face dared him to argue. Taako had to fight down a grin despite himself. "Fuck you."

"Yeah, yeah." Merle leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and smirked a little beneath his beard. "You can dish it out, but you can't take it."

Taako looked away again, staring off into the woods past Magnus' yard, at the bit of the pond behind his house that he could see through the trees.

"Least I can dish it out."

"Wow," Merle deadpanned. "We back to making fun of my spells again?"

"Never stopped being relevant."

"You want me to cast Zone of Truth? Because I'll do it."

Taako stifled a snort and shook his head. Merle smacked his bicep with the back of his hand (which stung a bit more than it should, it being made of wood) and held it out again.

"Give a guy a hand?"

Now Taako did laugh, short and genuine, looking up at the stars and shaking his head.

"Stupid," he mumbled. "Stupid, dumb, awful joke."

He held out his hand. Merle took it in both of his, murmured words that Taako didn't understand, and he felt the pain recede beneath a soft, warm glow.

"There," Merle said when he was finished. Then he slapped Taako's arm again, harder, and he winced. "Brat."

"Whatever," he mumbled.

They sat there in silence few minutes. Taako stared down at his newly mended hand, flexing the fingers, tracing the lines of his palm with his thumb. Merle clasped his hands together, his breathing slow and deep, almost meditative. Though he was loathe to admit it, Taako found his presence in that moment comforting.

"Don't suppose you brought any kush," Taako asked, breaking the quiet.

"Nope."

Taako clicked his tongue. "Figures."

Another silence, shorter than the last.

"You weren't the only one who got hurt, y'know."

Taako frowned. "Like I care."

"You do," Merle said, matter-of-fact. "You act like you don't. Maybe you even wish you didn't. But you do."

"You got a single shred of evidence for that, half-pint?" he snapped.

Merle said nothing. He stood up and brushed off his pants pointlessly.

"You wouldn't be so angry, otherwise."

Taako turned and glared at him. It didn't have nearly as much force behind it as he wanted it to.

"It's cold," Merle said bluntly. "I'm goin' in. You'd better, too, fragile elven constitution and all."

"Fuck you," Taako said, without any heat.

"Uh-huh." Merle turned and stepped back onto the deck.

"You expect me to apologize?" Taako called over his shoulder.

Merle paused, door to Magnus' house half-open, and regarded him with his one good eye.

"No, Taako, I don't," he said. "But I do expect you to help clean up."

The screen door shut behind him. The door proper remained open, a sliver of light shining from inside.

Taako sat on the stairs of Magnus' deck, trying his best not to think about what Merle had said, and failing miserably. He pushed himself to his feet and exhaled sharply, watching his breath cloud and fade.

God, he thought, I really need a smoke.

Then he turned and went back inside.


	3. Strength

Magnus stepped out onto his porch and caught sight of Lucretia next to the road. She was standing by his mailbox, in the pool of light from the single lantern hanging by the post, facing away towards the sea.

He walked towards her, goosebumps prickling up his bare arms, ignoring it the way he did most discomfort. He stopped beside her and realized she was shivering.

"Are you cold?" he asked, feeling stupid. "I can get you a cloak or a blanket–"

"No," Lucretia said. "I'm fine, Magnus. Thank you."

"Don't seem fine," he said, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Don't have to be, either."

Lucretia looked at him. Her face, so much older than he was comfortable with, showed no sign of understanding.

"You don't have to be strong, anymore, Lu," he said. "You're not alone."

Her lip quivered, and she looked away with a grimace. She took a long, shuddering breath, condensation puffing out in stutters.

"It still feels like it sometimes."

Magnus reached out, because he couldn't help it. He wrapped one big arm around her, and she turned and leaned into his chest.

"We love you," he said with absolute surety. "Every one of us. That'll never change. Sometimes, it's just..."

"You forget?"

"No," Magnus assured her with a squeeze. "Never. But some of us... we feel it so strongly that it's... hard. Sometimes."

"I shouldn't have come," Lucretia murmured into his chest, voice tight. "I know you invited me, but I shouldn't have–"

"Hey, hey, hey," he said gently, putting his other arm around her, cupping her head in his hand. "Don't you ever say that. You're always welcome here, okay? Always. If anyone doesn't like it, that's their problem."

Lucretia sobbed, just once, and Magnus nearly started weeping himself. He thought of Taako and fought down a scowl; he was drunk and spoiling for a fight, that's all. It wasn't his fault, same as it wasn't hers for coming. No, what bothered him more was that no one had come to her defense, or tried to talk Taako down, or even change the subject. They'd all just watched.

Magnus had, perhaps foolishly, thought they'd all come to terms before this. Apparently he was wrong. But they would have to, someday. They'd been through too much together to break apart now, in the peace and quiet.

Lucretia sniffed loudly and took another deep breath.

"I love you, Magnus," she said thickly. "I love all of you."

"I know."

"I wish that–"

"I know," Magnus repeated, stroking her hair. "You don't have to say it."

Lucretia sniffed again. After a long moment, she pulled away.

"You're a good man, Magnus Burnsides," she said, wiping her eyes.

He smiled weakly, hands still on her shoulders. "It's been said."

Lucretia sighed, patting his big hand. "I think I'll stay out here a little while longer, if that's alright."

"Sure, of course. You want a blanket?"

She nodded, not meeting his eyes. "That'd be lovely, thank you."

Magnus gave her shoulders one last squeeze, then turned away. Halfway back to the door, someone else stepped out onto the porch. For a moment, he thought it was Taako.

"Is she alright?" Lup asked quietly, tucking some hair behind her pointed ear.

"No," he said honestly. "But she will be."

He stepped past her into the house, heading for the kitchen. There was still some coffee left, and he threw the percolator on the stove for a minute until it bubbled again. He poured a pair of mugs, and holding them both in one hand with a thick blue blanket draped over the other, he stepped back outside.

Lup stood next to Lucretia at the end of the path, staring out at the sea with her.

Magnus smiled and went to give them their coffee.


End file.
